What I Learned Not Eating for 60 Hours

During lunch, while I was scarfing a delicious ham sandwich (bad jew, I know), my friend Charlie Hoehn wasn’t eating.

I asked, "What’s up?".

“Oh, I’m on a 7 day fast, ” Charlie said.

“WTF. Fer reals,” I said.

“Yea, while I was going through some things last year this was one of the few experiences that really helped make my life better,” Charlie said.

It also gave him mental clarity like nothing else which made me curious to try.

I decided that since I’ve done a 24 hour fast before, going for 60 hours would be pushing myself to the limit.

So for 60 hours I was in. Queue weekend…

For the first hours of the fast I was gold. This will be cake I thought (pun-intended).

I did a 14 mile bike ride and then some light walking.

Bad idea.

"The wall” hit me around 4pm.

Tired, low energy, just low everything!

Towards night time I could feel my stomach rumbling but it wasn’t unbearable.

Sunday is where it got really challenging.

Stupid me decided a 4 mile hike and 3 hours of disc golf were a great idea. They weren’t.

My energy was very low and I got extremely light headed whenever I tried to stand up.

This was a rough day, I’d go in-and-out of hunger and got weak very quickly throughout the day when I normally wouldn’t.

As night began I was extremely productive with work and creative with my writing. Maybe cause it was hard for me to move so typing on my couch seemed easier than usual.

The day was near done but I couldn’t sleep…

And I couldn’t sleep and it continued. Shit.

Then my heart started acting a bit crazy. Beating extremely slowly but very strong like I’ve never felt before.

It scared me. I searched online for what a normal heart beat should be which is 60-100.

Checked my pulse which was 68 and then tried to rest.. Finally around 2:30am I passed out.

BUT woke up again at 3:42am.

My heart was going all zany again. WTF is going on. I got a bit scared.

Internally I was debating: “No way I can break my fast. I committed to myself, my fasting partner (very helpful) and others that I’d see this through to the end."

Most of us think we are stubborn and I’m no exception.

I had to ponder if it was worth it to potential damage myself long-term vs the ego that was challenging me at that moment.

I also struggled with maybe this is just the hard part I have to get past and suck it up.

My heart kept throbbing…

So I made the executive decision to make some oatmeal.

The downside risk of dying was not worth trying to reach an arbitrary goal.

...I still feel some guilt today for not going all the way.

Noah's famous oatmeal

I felt better nearly instantly.

Lost 7 pounds (149) after not eating for 50 hours.

What can YOU learn from this?

Discipline is good. I’m super glad I had the self control to not eat and reinforced that I can do this in other parts of my life. Short term not having discipline is okay but the long-term reward from it will make you much more likely to get what you want.

Reading is shit. Experience is gold. (< Click to tweet) You can read about how to start a business or a diet or anything you’ve been avoiding doing forever. The best way I’ve found to truly internalize knowledge is to experience it yourself.

Food = Energy. I never looked at food like gas to a car. When you give your body food it’s basically converted to energy so you can do the things you want it to do. Better food = better energy.

Simplify your decisions. Yesterday, I realized while snacking that it’s easier to not have to decide with food. With fasting, I knew I wouldn’t eat but snacking on jerky yesterday I had to figure out how much I wanted to eat. This made me realize why the 100 calorie Almond packs are so powerful. If you know the decision will be hard or uncertain, figure out how you can pre-commit or reduce having to decide when you don’t want to.

Would I recommend this for you to do?

HELL no, if you want to do it as a diet. It’s not a bad kickstarter to a diet but it’s definitely not sustainable.

Yes, if you want to explore how far you can go, become more aware of when you actually need to eat, and want a challenge.

Would I do this again?

Yes, I plan on fasting for only 24 hours once a month. Less for the challenge and more for the reminder that I don’t really need to eat as much and bring my awareness of food to the front of my mind. It was amazing how much food consumed my thoughts when I didn’t have it for only 2 days...

Okay, action time. Leave a comment and take the challenge to fast for 24 hours.

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276 responses to “What I Learned Not Eating for 60 Hours”

James

March 15, 2019 at 5:43 am

??? ‘the downside risk of dying’
You really think going without food for a couple days is going to somehow make your heart fail?? Maybe you should have done abit of intermittent fasting then 24 hours then 48 hours and then done a 60 hour fast after breaking yourself in over a few months if you were going to shit ur pants about it

I've been trying fasting with a goal of 72 hours one a week. Been going and am in 6th week. I cheat on the final morning with cappuccino, but otherwise pretty disciplined. Doing for weight loss (18 lbs so far) and ketosis health benefits. Plus just resetting my normal habits. I find it surprisingly easy.

Omg crazy I found your article on this I love the idea of a fasting lifestyle. And Ive since implemented it into my own life. I find I do purposefully self sabotage and eat shoveling every bad bit of junk or sugar I can find. Then woops restart again. Anyways, I first started with a 24 simple yes as cake lol. Then I moved up to 33 hours on new years 2019 and that was a dry fat by 27 hours I was really craving water once 2019 at midnight came I downed a bottle of water. And that was my longest fast ever. Well, again I wanted to try for longer and so I started this past Thursday and had a goal of 72 hours did I reach it no, so of course the same ego you I had I did too and I felt failure but then happy that I showed a test of will. I felt all the same damn things you felt and lastnight I got to bed at 3 a.m and woke up for boxing at 7 a.m I was fine, thinking I can do this but nope went from feeling decent to not so much hungry but my mental cognition was low, my brain felt foggy, I was shakey and just not feeling so well. So, I broke my fast at 54 hours with a banana, steak, avocado and 1 hard boiled egg, only Im considering that my REFEED and I started farthing after.Im going to continue this lifestyle as it dont feel so hard at all as LONG as I get to eat and REFEED. I'll upfate more after my first full week of intermittent O.M.A.D fasting..

Doctors have told me not to eat if I’m not hungry. But what do I do now, because I’ rarely hungry at all. Have no interest in food. It’s been 24 hours & no urge to eat still. I’m overweight with EDS (Ehlers Danlos) Nutritionists say eat small meals because in the end fasting is not all that great. So idk

Fasting is an opportunity for internal healing (enabled by processes like autophagy and phagocytosis), since the body gets a break from digestion.

Disease is Nature's signal for obstruction or infection, and fasting is the cure for obstruction. Many of the diseases that cause suffering and end lives are due to congestion, or buildup- Of plague, acid, inflammation, toxins.

Fasting, combined with right eating, is the natural way of returning to a superhuman state of health, such that most would not even believe exists.

Read The Mucusless Diet Healing System by Arnold Ehret. Read everything you can. And be willing to change your diet and lifestyle completely if you seek to truly know about fasting and its potential for our growth.

I fasted 3 days but not by choice I had a flu bug. I ended up with a bleeding ulcer and required a 3 pints of blood to be transfused. I didn't want the transfusion but the doctor said if I didn't I would die. I am healed now but I have no appetite whatsoever. I only eat if I feel light headed. Congratulations on your efforts you won the battle but lost the war. Thank you for sharing your story.

Enjoyed your Blog. I'm 37 with 3 kids 15, 11, and 6. I work fulltime. I'm trying to reach a 96 hr water fast. It's seems okay except for the low energy and slight headaches. I'm at 87 hrs currently. I previously intermittent fast for about a month. I enjoy that better.

I'm 18 now and the longest time i have been without food is 72 hours. I only drank
about 3 cups of still water a day. It didn't feel bad even though i walked 2km every day for those 3 days. I weight 45kg/99 lbs and i'm 161cm/ 5'2.

I’m on hour 45 of not eating. I’m almost ready for bed so that will bring it to 53 upon waking. I’m glad I found your article because so many times today, I wanted to break my fast and all I could think about was food. I kept myself busy, powered through, and am happy to report that I didn’t succumb. I love hearing others stories of fasting because it reminds me why I’m doing it for myself. Thanks for sharing

I fast regularly, I usually go 3-4 days its mental illness driven for me, my longest fast nil by mouth was 17 days, after day 3 it actually becomes easier, sure I was in a bad place and im not recommending it it turns your urine dark brown and leaves you with very little energy, I lost almost 10”on my waist 42 down to 32/34”

U had a wonderful experience..I fasted for three days without eating and drinking.but it was a spiritual fast..with prayers and meditation.not much physical movement. I believe dry fasting gives good results.

I just (less than 30 mins ago) finished a 132 hour fast - my 1st attempt at fasting ever. Was starving through most of it & I never got that clarity/burst of energy others seem to get. All good though. Just polished off bacon & eggs - delish. Will do it again in 3 months.

So far 48hrs into my water only fast, i work with food so i am assuming cooking and serving food for 8 hours a day might be a little harder.
Yes i am already thinking about my next meal how ever my meal of choice is going to be small and with soft food to give my intestines and stomach a chance. i will probably also have a thin soup before my meal to jump start my body into receiving food.
24 hours to go and on the plus side i am going to sleep 10 of them.

you have done this wrong. you must eat a low carb diet before you fast as this will keep your insulin levels low and you wont feel as hungry. you have to take electrolytes , for sleep. and working out so much pro not a good idea either.

I have fasted for 24hours so far, water only. I feel more energetic. When I feel I want to eat, I find a distraction. It seems to be a will of the mind at the moment, my body has not started responding (other than tummy growling), no dizziness, no shakes. I still think about food, a lot. Smelling co-workers lunches is torture; but that is when I reach and search for a distraction.

Anorexia is a fear of gaining weight and a repeated cycle of binging and purging food, plus a very negative body image. Fasting is a test of dicipline which takes inner strength and training, has many health benefits, and has nothing to do with anorexia..... :/

I haven't had anything to eat for 124 1/2hours, that's 5+ full days. And let me say that's not by choice. It's because I don't have any money to buy food. The hunger pangs don't go away, and any head movement makes me dizzy. Just today I've developed uncontrollable shaking in my hands and arms, Not fun.... When do I expect to eat again? I honestly don't know.!!!!

Dude if you have access to the internet you have access to people and no one around you would let you starve like this. You need to go find someone to help, go to a hospital, a church, find a stranger. You do not need to be starving like that there are so many people who will help you.

I'm low on funds but I bought carrots (.98) and cucumbers (.50 a piece), 2 bananas (.98 a pound). So it's carrot, water, salt, pepper in a pot and that's my carrot soup. Cucumbers are my snack. Yeah, no eating out for me but I see myself getting a job offer soon (keep getting calls twice a day in the last week).

Fasting for 60 hrs is totally doable for everyone as long as you have enough willpower to accomplish it. Our bodies were designed to last days without food. We’re all just too conditioned to eating every few hours because we’ve been tricked by the fitness community that this is healthy and necessary to be healthy. Fasting has been proven to have numerous health beanefit.

I am 53 hours into a 72 hour fast. Over the last few months I have tried to restrict myself to a 2 hour eating window everyday with water and coffee as needed throughout the day. On a few occasions I have endured a 30 hour fast. It seems the literature is saying 72 hours is the goal to shoot for. I've literally only had 2 cups of coffee and about 2 liters of sparkling water. I worked out normally the first few days but the second of those was a beast. I will weight tomorrow to see how much weight I am down.
Why? Discipline. Don't let the food control me. I think controlling what you put in your mouth is the key to controlling your weight long term. Everyone thinks it is crazy. But since over 60% of the US population is overweight or obese.... majority thought is not what I think I should trust

Hey just wanted to say that reading all these comments helped me get through the hardest part for me. I have been suffering from irritable bowel syndrome on and off all my life and more recently some sort of autoimmune problem...many symptoms of fibromyalgia.. I am trying all I can to help heal myself. I have always feared fasting as I remembered the gnawing feeling of my stomach when I attempted in college. Never thought about it again. Now here I am again. Made it through the first day able to work, walk the dogs etc. stomach burning around 1 pm, Nightime burning was more pronounced..couldn't go to sleep until late. I woke up today and was determined to get to 6 pm. Worst symptoms ever..super tired, not able to focus, headache, and extreme burning sensation in my stomach, horrible mood, emotional. I was writing in my journal basic symptoms and could barely hold the pen. I suffered through the day in bed. Every time I got up I was super dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out but would reside fairly quickly, heart beating super fast and could feel the blood pumping in my head. I started looking for these symptoms online as everything I had read was people feeling not too hungry, having energy and feeling good. I read some people taking salt and decided to have a Pelligrino mineral water and almost immediately started feeling better. I am drinking salt water now and could be the missing ingredient to why I was feeling so bad. I also talked to some friends...a good distraction. I am on 48 hours now and will go through to the morning and try to reach 60 hours...wow quite an experience that I am not sure I want to go through again but will look forward to starting an intermittent fasting regime...thanks for all the comments. I has helped get through the hardest part, I hope 🙂

Hi Heather,
ibs is a real pain and I have had it off an on for the last 30 years.

I go on 24 hour oat milk only fasts.
I have 2 litres of oat milk in a 24 hour period.(First glass 6am on the 2nd day)
this can supply 800-1000 calories.
eat in the evening on day 1 and don't have solid food again until 24 hours later
if still suffering do another day following on from day2
Other non dairy milks work as well just make sure sugar below 4 grams per 100
I buy alpro oat original at a £1 a carton from asda.
2 cartons = 860 calories.
early in the day can still feel rough but by about 12.30 really start to pick up
and by 3 the hunger pangs have gone and I feel great
I advise 3 days a week if you are having bad times but once under control just
2 or three times a month helps a lot.
The body handles oats well and because you are having two litres a day it helps against dehydration as well.
Don't drink it cold from the fridge as it can cause cramps.
I tried so many other methods but this for me at least is the best
hope it helps
Pete

Salt water, that sounds like a good tip. How much salt per serving, and what would a serving be considered, and how often? Sorry about all the questions, I don't want to screw it up and be turned off by it immediately. Can I add lemon to help with taste?

I had CFS for decades. I was trying to cure IBS when I found out that the cause of the IBS was not gluten but wheat, rye and barley.
But it was also the cause of my CFS, which disappeared immediately - and my life was transformed forever !

I’m currently on day one of the Prüvit 60 Hour Reboot (Keto) fast. It’s basically liquids. Disgusting liquids. They do not taste good. Trying to choke them down reminds me of when you try to drink alcohol that’s you’ve been sick off of before. For me it’s jaeger. It triggers that reflex. I honestly don’t think I can make it. This article makes me feel a little better knowing I’m not some weirdo for feeling super icky during a fast!

Hi, I just did a 3 day fast but the same thing you went through I went through I thought I was going to die. I couldn’t sleep and when I finally fell asleep I woke up an hour later throwing up like crazy. I was pale and all. at that moment I knew I had to eat so like you I had an oat meal and a banana. It was a scary experience. I still feel out of it even tho I’m eating. Idk how to kick start myself back up! Guys be safe! Lol

The key to successful fasting is rest. It allows your body to focus all its energy on healing and mobilizing fat stores. When you exercise during a fast, you are disrupting that balance. This applies to any extended fasts, not intermittent fasting or time restricted eating.

I tried to do the the 7-day fast as well. I chose this because I've gained some unwanted weight in college, and before this year i've struggled to keep weight on and now i'm seeing the opposite. I finished three days of not taking in any calories and just drinking water. I had to stop because I felt the same symptoms you did and it was unpleasant. However, I stepped on the scale after three days and gained 3 pounds. I have no idea how this is possible and i'm quite confused.

Hi the true measure is circumference, not weight. Also, the reason fasting is effective is that with insulin out of the way you turn to fat for energy. However there is another hormone that will store fat and that is cortisol. Cortisol is how your body responds to stressful situations. Were you undergoing psychological stress during this three day period?

The snake diet is a fasting plan. You drink what they call snake juice which is water, Himalayan salt, baking soda, you can even add lemon, Epsom salt ( edible kind) and vinegar. This drink is what replaces your electrolytes so you do not feel as if you have no energy, low energy or feel like eating. Look into it. It is on you tube and there is a Facebook page.

Our bodys crave sodium during the fasted state even on omad its salt that gives us the steady heart rate potassium has its place but not mearly as much as salt ive found myself ingesting 3 tsp in a large cup of water lasting me 5 - 6 hours without heart rate elevation just to test myself and myself too follows Cole Robinson snake diet. Trail and error everyones salt intake and needs will be different.

I broke a 64 hour fast yesterday, felt great but I got my period and I had to break my fast because I have a tendency towards anemia. For anyone with anemic tendencies, you can still fast! just be very careful that your iron supply is good. Go to the doctor, get your blood tested, then you can fast. Keep away from coffee, as caffeine inhibits iron uptake, and you need to keep your iron and energy levels high. This is very important! Some people can fast with coffee but it is not a good idea for everyone especially menstruating women or any man with internal blood issues (a hernia for example). Tea/herbal tea is ok.

After 3 days, i broke my fast and had a small meal because I was really feeling tired. However, after eating just a little bit (literally much less than I usually do, one small salad and one fruit bowl/peanut butter) I feel great! It seems like those greens and fruit was all i needed in terms of vitamins. I realized during this fast i have very poor portion control with fruit (its 'healthy' so i overdo it) and oil/nut butters.

I'm feeling great, slightly less bloated and cramping less than usual, which says a lot (I have one 10cm fibroid, due for surgery in a month, ovarian cysts, and general estrogen dominance issues that make me look pregnant). My goal is the next time I'm full, my belly will be full of food and not of tumors.

If you are young (less than 25 years old) and DO NOT have weight issues or health issues i wouldn't recommend a super long fast. I was absolutely always hungry at that age, younger people need those calories. For those people a cleaner diet and intermittent fasting can work just fine. It's when you're older/bloated/and have some sort of inflammatory disease that fasting makes you , feel much better. My stomach is always 'full', so this is really giving me a lot of energy/freedom from the constant bloating. Im hoping to go the next 4 days without food, since i broke my 3 day fast. Will keep you posted!

I haven't eaten in 5 days. the reasons I don't feel the urge to and I'm really depressed. the only I really had is a little sandwich and little bit of snakes and that's about it. I don't have a problem with my body like I don't think I'm fat.

I wasn’t fasting but I somehow managed to get through a whole day without eating and for once in a very long time I didn’t feel fat. I’m only 14 so I don’t wanan hurt myself but it really sucks cause I always feel fat and Today I felt more confident I haven’t worn pants since the 5th grade because it’s depressing because I love my family but they don’t understand how I feel so that really sucks but I have no one to talk to about;(

I'm 57 now and spent my whole life thinking I was fat. I look back on pictures and think. ...I wasn't that fat. We are too hard on ourselves. You're probably very beautiful and I can tell you have a huge Heart. (Something some skinny people Don't have) I'm fastening for 60 hrs. It is a little hard but not unbearable. I feel a little smaller too. Good for us! I'm going to do it a couple times a month. I know I'll lose. But more importantly,I'll feel better about myself. Hang in there. Don't let it consume your life like I did. Live, laugh and eat. (Just cut down here and there) it will work. 🙂

I am 14 as well and i feel so bad about my weight, I am 5'8 and 153pounds I always feel bad and usually eat under 1000 calories a day but can't lose weight I get dissy often for my whole life so I am hesitant about fasting but I'll probably do it

I am having weird and bad lower stomach cramps the next morning. I eat everyday until 11am or 12pm and fast the remaining I’m still breastfeeding my toddler trying to ween her. I am 5:8 135 and at first I had more energy but I’m developing bad cramps in the morning in my bladder? Cannot find anything online about it. I am taking herbs new chapter pure energy. I do not fast 24 hours as I have 2 parrots and 2 toddler I need energy but something is changing.

I usually do a 24 fast everyday. I've been doing this for a few years now. I decided to try a longer fast. My plan was to stop at 48 hours but I'm still not hungry and have lots of energy. I only drink coffee and water (with some sea salt). I did some walking, cycling and weight training today. Nothing too excessive but enough to get my heart rate up. I thought I'd be a lot hungrier. But I'm just not interested in food at all right now.

I just recently did a 48 fast with water only. Yes food thoughts consumed me too. Felt weak but knew my body needed the break. I too had porridge on day 2. I think water is important to keep hydrated. Next 24 hours too once a month.

Hey all..
I have a question if you all don't mind answering.. With all fasting (even water fasting or just drinking liquids for multiple days 5- 10) when you finally did eat food was your neck an throat muscles sore an strained feeling.. I work all the time an I stay so busy there's really no time even for a snack an when I finally get home I'm so tired that after a shower i just climb in bed an I'm out.. Not paying any attention (to how long i hadnt ate an attemped but failed) where I've been so busy I finally made myself eat something an its like hours later my throat is feeling sore an my neck feels like I've laid the wrong way all night but I haven't even been home long from work.. I'm thinking I've over worked an over done it with trying to eat something since it had been 5 days but I knew I needed to get something in my stomach or I knew I would eventually have a lot more problems then I could deal with.. Should I be worried or is it normal since ive only drank liquids an will it go back to normal fast? Plez I need answers!!!!!

I am on 98 hours strictly just water no additional nutrients or additives. I believe it is purely person to person how a fast will affect you. It’s definitely better if you start small and build up. I am planning to do 12 days this time.
I have had no bad side effects except one sleepless night but I just got out of bed at 3am when I couldn’t sleep and I was still extremely productive all day and slept like a rock the next night. My activity level has been high as well but not strenuous due to excess energy I try to walk about 5miles each day and have been successful this far.

I highly recommend keeping it up if you can! The heath benefits are amazing at least for me not just the weight loss but I deal with pretty bad anxiety and depression and by day 3 of any fast I have done my symptoms are virtually gone.

How did it go Matthew? I fast 4 times a year for 9 days. Comments on here are very accurate. Day 3 is when ketosis sets in normally but after fasting regularly it sets in the evening of day two for me now. I have done a 21 day fast and lost all sensation of hunger and regained energy between day 4-8 (that was one of my earlier fasts). Now I am low in energy day 3 and part of 4 and am fine the rest of the days. I hope it worked out well for you! Fasting is so beneficial but if you are in poor health you should absolutely have a doctors/qualified support involved. It is tough to get through the transition into ketosis but so worth the benefits of renewed systems! I am on day 4 of a 9 day fast right now. 🙂

You bailed at the toughest part , too bad, gets much much easier after three days ( which is what is required for true ketosis). The same time you did yours, I did an 11 day fast in October 2017. Days 7-10 were a breeze, 11 wasn’t bad just boring-this is water only. So, fasting is extremely beneficial and to do it right , you need a long one once a year

ive been doing 16/8 since january and i commend anyone that makes it past a day. once i hit the 20 hour mark if i happen to be out and can't eat i feel like i'm dead. then i eat more than normal once i'm off the fast.

You needed electrolytes! Sodium and potassium! I dump pink salt and nu-salt (POTASSIUM bicarbonate) into an evian water (has to be evian or you will just pee the electrolytes out) and there is no weird jumpy heart, no light headedness, no wanting to faint!

Despite the other reply(!) this sounds correct because when your insulin is low, as in a fasted state, your kidneys don’t hold onto sodium. Anyone following a ketogenic diet will tell you this. You need to take extra salt- around 5 extra grams of sodium chloride (salt) per day and you will feel much better

Hey! So I think I’m on the verge of doing something like this as it is my 2nd day of not eating or sleeping. So I have some questions and I hope you can reply back to me soon 🙂 ..... How was your body reacting to the sudden change? Were you still doing your daily tasks that you had to do like work clean or school etc? Did it do you any good like weight loss or mental strengthening?

I usually do IF 20/4 with keto everyday for 3 months with faster workouts. I went full 24hrs and due to my timing to eat at night I fell asleep with hunger. I woke up decided to do 36hrs and still not hungry, again told myself I'm gonna go to 48 hrs. I hit 42hrs got light headed, fainting feelings and decided to stop there. My health was more important. My first 24 was dry fast, then I added water with pink salt up to 42hrs. Now, I'll regroup my nutrients and go again next month.

The reason you were feeling the way you were feeling during your fast is because you gave a body a chance to cleanse itself.. during the cleansing process old toxins from old food in your stomach gets released into your blood stream and causes bad feelings. As soon as you ate the oatmeal the elimination of toxins came to a stop and you felt better. Check out dr sebi & arnold eheret, they cover this extensively

Hi (all the way from the UK), excellent piece and very interesting( you should do a YouTube channel), I myself have started to fast from 3pm till 9am as I am 10kg overweight, I want to lose weight and train my mind/body that I don’t need to eat every hour.

As someone who just did a 100 hr fast, I don't share your experience at all. I'm 300 lbs so I guess it might come from a point where I have much more stored energy than you and my body not freaking totally out. I never felt low energy, and it really didn't have any effect on my life.

I have 1:30 hours left to complete my water-only 72 hour fast. This time around I felt weak only on day two in the morning but it lasted only briefly. The rest of the time, I’ve had good energy to continue my normal daily activities (minus the gym or excercise) although I do walk my fur baby quite often.
The benefits Im looking for see best covered in two awesome documentaries about Heath. One is available on Amazon prime video called “The Science of Fasting” and the other is a bbc documentary on YouTube called “Eat, Fast, and live longer BBC Documentary”

Well all in all I’ve lost fat and a bit but not much of muscle. We must break the fast with light and nutrient dense food and maintains hydration because your body is expelling so many toxins. Some bloggers suggest taking pink salt and potassium to replenish the minerals we lose in the urine. But in Germany they also use saunas to help the toxin release. Watch the documentaries!

I’m at 42 hours and I’m pulling for 84 hours. So far, I really don’t mind and I’d like to see how much willpower I have. I’ve already surpassed my previous record, which was 32 hours. Weirdly enough, I weighed myself yesterday as well as this morning and i seem to have gained weight without having eaten anything.

If you’re drinking water you were probably retaining it. Your body automatically has that response to the change in diet, salt and water intake, presumably to keep you from also becoming dehydrated. We’re all like misshapen camels.

In 9 hours, I'm just finishing a 48 hour fast. I did get some advice on what to drink and made a couple of electrolyte replacement and water mixtures that helped a lot.

I had a small Christmas dinner finished by 6 p.m. and did not feel hungry until 14 hours later. After I wake and yesterday morning, I was surprised at how often I thought about food and by 20 hours I was already fantasizing what I was going to eat when I quit fasting 28 hours later.

I decided to have tea instead of coffee, no cream and sugar, both mornings. So I don't have a caffeine headache withdrawal. I also drank 3 cups of Yogi fasting tea my first day and will do the same today. I had a two-hour meeting to attend so I drank half a cup of tart cherry juice before I went which improved my energy. The fasting tea helped as well.

After I passed the 24 hour mark I was no longer hungry and my mind cleared. I still have a clearer mind.

It has given me a much greater awareness of how my food habits, eating habits had deteriorated in the last 2 years. I also became more grateful for the abundance of food in my home and community and the easy access to it, while so many in the world go to bed hungry and don't know when they're going to eat again. A greater compassion and gratitude.

I plan to do this monthly, maybe a 36 to 40-hour fast because I like to eat my main meal in the morning and very little at night. I have been sleeping very well and don't when I eat in the evening.

I do a 24 hour fast every other day and I notice the exact same heartbeat issue but after I eat. The first time it happened was after my first 24 hours. I ate and then maybe an hour later my heart was annoyingly throbbing like I had taken something but not as fast but certainly very strong! Also, it should be noted that I didn't flood my body with a ton of junk food. I too had the same issue with the sleep as well! I could not sleep! My whole body felt like it had a restless leg syndrome moment. I finally fell asleep around 2 only to be awoken at 3ish. It finally relaxed around 6 am! I've since fasted a week's worth of times and the only thing that continues is my heart beating but, I've had it checked and everything is just fine and my Dr. encouraged for me to continue but had no explanation has to why I was experiencing what I was but I'm glad I'm not the only one!

I commend you for your efforts and your continued 24hr. monthly fasting. I'm curious as to whether or not you really gain clarity and how many hours into the fast do you notice? I'm also interested in if you increase your clear fluid or water intake during the 24 hour fast. I'm reading your book also. Very good so far. Thank You, Sherry Reynolds RN

I have done this before.... Well actually now ....... I have went 4 or 5 days even 6 days without eating because I have no food in my home and sometimes I'm scared to drink water because I know it will make me hungry this is something you should never do fasting can damage your body on so many levels

That's not true. Fasting has been long known to be healthy and beneficial. Jesus fasted. Gandhi fasted, and plenty of monks fast. You should read up on it instead of believing the myths. As long as you're healthy, fasting is a natural practice.
(Btw, you posted this on my birthday ?). Cheers.

I have not eaten for 2 days once I can't afford food so let my kids eat I had nothing. Some people have no choice but don't eat. I dont drink or use drugs hard times hit me. Right now I feel so hungry and dizzy.

What state do you live in? You or especially children should NEVER go hungry with the government programs in place. I'm all for being proud but if you have kids sign up the SNAP program and find a food bank.

Picture an out-of-shape friend telling you that they just ran a marathon, and that they thought they were going to die but they forced their way through... You’d probably think that was pretty dumb. Fasting is the same way. It puts a lot of stress on the body if you’re not trained for it. I did the the 16:8 protocol for a long time when I started fasting. As I started getting less and less hungry during the day, I naturally drifted to a 24 hour fast. It’s not challenging at all because my body is so used to it. I can work out, too, and not feel any less energetic or more hungry throughout the day.

This is true! My husband and I had also started out with the 16:8 before moving into a 24 hr. The 16:8 was extremely tough for the first 2 weeks. Lightheaded, shakey, tired etc but eventually that stopped happening and so I moved on to the 24. Now that I've mastered the 24 I'm going to move to the 36 and then 48.

I only eat a single pb&j sandwich with a glass of milk or water every 24 hours at 8pm. Started this a week ago and lost 5 pounds so far. I do drink water throughout the day when I get thirsty. I just get dizzy spells around 4.

I hear it's suppose to help with mental focus but I'm currently at 94 hours into my fast and all I can do now is think about food. I'm about to break it because like how you said I just think about food now and can't focus.

I just recently finished a 72 hour fast, and I felt GREAT at the end. I drank nothing but water and was full of energy. Giving your body ZERO calories is what triggers the health benefits like autophagy. Almost everyone can safely water fast for 4-5 days with no physical issues; you bring your own mental baggage, so pack lightly. Longer fasts may need salt or other supplements, and care when refeeding.

I do a 24 hour fast on the 15th of each month as part of a national day of fasting - fastforpeace.org - but this month decided to keep going for 72 hours. Might do 4 days next month, I felt that good.

I haven’t eaten for the past few days been living off of coffee and energy drinks. Occasionally my stomach will growl but that’s the only effects I have. No trouble sleeping, no fatigue. Some cravings for carbs the second day but nothing I couldn’t push through. Mind over matter

I'm currently at hour 50 of my who knows how long I'll go this time fast. I like to do a long fast (10-30 day) once every year to detox, break out of bad eating habits, spiritual reasons, mental clarity, you name it.

The one thing that I've learned from fasting is you should drastically tone down with exercise. I mean, little to none. Maybe a walk. Emphasis on "maybe". Exercise, on top of the fast, completely depletes your energy. You have to gradually allow your body to 1) start making ketones, and 2) get used to using ketones for energy. You shouldn't overexert yourself.

Next time, try it without the 14 mile bike ride. I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it. But you did good! Longer than I would have lasted with exercise added to the mix. Kudos! It's not an easy task.

Well that was interesting. If I went by this I would never eat tho... Sadly I just don't feel hungry and when I do eat.. I throw it up it makes me feel so disgusting... I can go over a wk easy between vomit meals.. And I have been this way for as long as I can remember. I only force myself to eat occasionally now.. Can't stand the way it makes me feel... E

Perhaps you have an undiagnosed medical condition or maybe an emotional disorder reaction to food? Mind over matter? If you vomit every time you eat, there is obviously a problem if it is not self induced by an eating disorder.
Either way, seek treatment. Food is imperative for living; no food= high risk for other illness..that cannot be "cured". Take care of yourself. Best of luck

While a one day fast is pretty good for you, a three day is where the health benefits really roll in. Stick at it next time, you wont die. If your heart goes bonkers then maybe try a little salt or one of those sports drinks that gives electrolytes, but personally I think the calories and other bad stuff in those would count as cheating. (and remember, this is cheating your body not other people you are competing with)

I have started my 3 day fast under supervision of my nutritionist. I have not had a morsel of food in 38 hours. You can drink plenty of water while on a fast. The point of your fast is to cleanse your body. Your body uses glucose to burn for energy. When no food is present and there is no glucose to burn, your body goes into survival mode and burns the stored fat that we carry around. Doing this puts your body into ketosis. The ketogenic diet is a popular, effective way to lose weight and improve health. When followed correctly, this low-carb, high-fat diet will raise blood ketone levels. On a ketogenic diet, your body undergoes many biological adaptions, including a reduction in insulin and increased fat breakdown. When this happens, your liver starts producing large amounts of ketones to supply energy for your brain. I feel great thus far. I just remind myself to keep pounding water. I'm not sure if I could do a 60 hour fast. This is my first time doing a fast. You must start slow and work your way up. Good luck.

This is extremely unhealthy if you want to diet the proper way to do it is eating healthy and excersize and counting calories depending on your weight if you go a big amount of time with out food you lose muscle mass and then your body starts a starvation point so its best not to do this at all.

This is just not true, and there is plenty of research to back it up. Ketosis has a muscle preserving effect, so once that kicks in, you're good. Now, eating consistently too low of the amount of calories you need will surely cause muscle loss. Please look at the research by Dom D'Agostino. (Who deadlifted 500 lbs for 10 reps, at the end of a 10 day fast). And he's not alone... Lots of research out there.

You sound very knowledgeable. I'm curious as to what point do you start using fat for energy and any other tips for someone getting prepared to start my first 3 day fast, and is that a reasonable length of time for a first fast?

Those are typically in survival situations where temperatures are unforgiving and you would waste a lot of energy searching. People have been able to fast for up to two weeks under correct conditions (lots of nourishment from health drinks and water), however I wouldn’t make his a habit.

Must be.. Or I would be dead 100+ tines already before I was 20 and now I heading to 40.. I don't eat for over a wk have a small meal. (Vegemite on a slice of bread size) throw my guts up and go back to not eating. I hate eating.. Most if the time I don't even eat it all.. O and I hardly drunk anything. Def not water. .. No idea why I just never feel hungry or like I want to eat.. So (when I remember and have the time I force something down but it don't stay there long... ?

3 days for water is correct. dehydration will kill you fast. Food on the other hand it appears that we can go up to 8 weeks without food if we are healthy and well nourished at the start and we keep drinking water. 5 days without food won’t kill you unless you are malnourished to begin with.

I'm 19 years old, 5'0" and 90 lbs. I wanted to get rid of my belly fat and blood sugar this holiday because I was so scared knowing my uncle's foot was amputated (he has diabetes). I've been fasting for 46 hours, did exercise for half an hour this morning. I only drink 20 sips of water for every 2 hours, nothing else. I only sleep at 11pm to 5am and 10am to 3pm. Now, my heart is beating like crazy and my feet feel weak so I just rest on my bed watching dramas (lol sorry).

I was the smallest kid since middle school (weight : 20kg to 25kg) untill high school (weight : 35kg to 38kg) but when I first went to college (1st up to 2nd semester) I ate a lot of stuff because I needed energy to keep me up doing this and that so my weight stayed at 40kg or 88lbs. Now, I'm going to 5th semester and my weight is 41kg or 90lbs. I never did diet before because I didn't have any appetite therefore, I only ate a lot of chocolates, candies, milk, and tea (3 to 4 cups a day). But that's when I thought "damn my blood sugar must be high". so I sacrificed everything, told my self not to make it worse and here I'm now.

Ah anyways! I'm not going to be an anorexic, I just wanted to lose some then gain more (with healthier food).

Does anyone know how many days do I need to lose 11 pounds? (with only water to survive).

I lost 35 pounds in 10 weeks of alternate day fasting this year and surprisingly to me my high blood pressure dropped after only 2 fasting days which made me very happy considering it's been high for 6 years straight. I don't take pharmaceuticals and fasting cured my High Blood Pressure in less than a week of every other day fasting.
Start off with a 3 day fast and then switch to every other day until you can see the 20 years younger body in the mirror. In my case that was 3 months. After 8 weeks I'd dropped over 20 lbs with all my old clothes that were too small fit again. I stopped fasting for 2 months and I did put back on 15 lbs. I've now just finished a 4 day fast and will eat today and then fast every other day.
It's so cool being able to eat as much as you want on feeding days and not hate yourself. After a 3 or 4 day fast it's a breeze to do every other day.
Saved you tons of money too!
Be strong and drink lots of water,tea and coffee this kills the hunger pains. Feel hungry-drink!
The only diet that actually is easy, healthy and saves tons of money at WHOLE PAYCHECK FOODS.

I'm 15 (lol I just saw another comment by someone my age) and I found this article because I am also on a fast. I'm planning on going until at least 5 days , and I'm currently on day 2. I was kind of surprised reading that this guy couldn't go for longer than 2 days, even though I've gone for 2 days a few times before. Maybe it becomes harder with age? I don't know. I'm trying to lose weight and see how much self control I have... I wonder how much weight I'll lose.

Im on day 6. I'm 162 cm. I've gone from 65.7 kg to 60.9 today. I live on coffee, green tea, carbonised water and a glass or 2 of diet coke a day. The hunger is gone.
My first goal is 55 kg, then I'll see how I look like and take it from there.
Only difficult thing is my 3 year old who asks me why I don't eat, so the last 2 days I've had to visit my family and eat there so he has someone to eat with( a bit sad ) .
The other problem is that I can't sleep, so I've started taking a sleeping pill to doze off and at least get a good night rest.

Fasting is not the answer for permanent weight loss. When you begin eating again, your body will store everything as fat..
Do research ladies. Fasting is good in moderation ..But if your goal is weight loss then the answer is this- Eat healthy, drink plenty of water, and Exercise!! Reduce calories.. But make this a lifestyle change so you are not binging..
You can do this the easy way..and that's what I've just stated.
Good luck!

Gr8 strict discipline Noah, This will certainly boost your confidence level apart from endless health advantages over time. We jains do fasting on most of d occasions with just boiled water consumed during daytime only. While 8 days fasting is just common many goes up to 51 days. Some ppl do fasting without water for 8 days.

Great experience. I am fasting for 12 hours today and I feel light headed and weak. I work on my computer and I don't feel like working. I feel tired. And this is only 12 hours. Duh... I can't imagine 18 or more hours. Is it ok to drink coffee, tea and smoothies or only water? What can you drink during fasting?

I'm thinking of fasting every Sunday...anyone think that's too much? I have a serious addiction to sugar and a ridiculously low metabolism. I weigh 110 lbs and I'm only 5'3" but where I have a low metabolism I find I have to be extremely strict with my diet, but then I crave sugar and go on a binge for a day or two...which packs on a good 3 lbs on to me. Then I struggle to lose it over weeks with A LOT of exercise and healthy eating, then I crave sugar again and so the cycle repeats itself. It's exhausting. Every day my life is consumed by thoughts of food one way or another. And then guilt when I give in and eat sugary foods. Thought a fast every Sunday might equal out the calories per week a bit if I do have a bit of a binge but also be a good cleansing tool and give me time to appreciate food, missing it, thinking about how to eat well and starting the week eating basic, healthy options at least. Nothing I've done seems to work. I want to shift 10 lbs too as I have excess on my hips and butt that because of my frame size just looks unsightly to me, even at the weight I am (I have a big butt and hips for my frame...ALL my fat gets stored there!) Any ideas or advice anyone has would be great!:)

Fasting actually slows your metabolism - it may make your situation worse... and fasting every week may be a bit excessive. Leave it for every once in a while. After all, skipping meals isn't exactly the healthiest choice for weight loss.

Fasting is great and does not damage your metabolism. That myth was based on the Minnesota starvation diet, but they did not actually fast, they reduced their daily calories. lowering your caloric intake lowers your metabolism.

Fasting actually raises your metabolism for the first 5 days at least and i believe for a period longer. Sorry i do not have the citations to provide, but I would recommend reading The Obesity Code by Dr. Jung, a leading nephrologist.

I recommend implementing fasting slowly, by starting with a 16 hour intermittent fasting. End your food intake at 8:00pm and break your fast the next morning at 12:00pm or a little later if you feel like. After a few days it will be easy.

The next step would be to go 20:4 so ending at 8:00pm you would not start eating again until 4:00pm or later the next day and ending again by 8:00pm.

Very important is also what you are eating. remove starches and added sugars including honey. just eat nuts, fruits, and vegetables with moderate amounts of meat and dairy. during your feeding window.

with this you will begin losing some weight because you are likely to increase your calorie deficit and at the same time provide healthy nutrition to the body for health and maintenance of organs and tissues.

Fasting is really great. I have been doing IF (Intermittent Fasting) described below for around a year now. I am starting to move further into fasting for longer periods. So far it has been working great for me.

I am obese and diabetic, so i have to be even more careful in fasting. Bust since starting just the IF i have reduced both my fast and long term insulin by a little more than 50%. In addition I have lost about 76lbs going from 416 est. to 340lbs. My goal is to get off of insulin and to get my body fat percentage to 20% or better. When i started i was around 40%. i say around because it was difficult to get an accurate weight for me, but i know i was at around 408lbs in the hospital ,and i had gained a few more pounds. So in doing the body fat calculations i estimated.Currently i am weighing 340lbs give or take a pound from last week. An i was in at 29.9%body fat. so i am better than half way to my goal. i have been working to improving the quality of my food for a year or two before i started fasting.

in the short period of about two weeks that i have been fasting 24-48 hours and then back to my IF 20:4 fast, a cheat day for mothers day, and then another 48 hour fast, i have reduced my insulin another 50% for the long term,so now at 25% of when i started, and i have eliminated the fast insulin on fasting days and only take about 50% on non fasting days, so better than a 75%reduction from my peak amounts.

I wish you luck in your journey, but be careful of advice based tradition thoughts, much of the research shows that it wasn't as accurate as it was portrayed to be, and that much of the advice we have been given for the last 40-50 years has really been what has led to the current disease epidemics.

I recommend reading or watching documentaries about Dr. Jung, Dr. Mosely regarding diet and fasting for disease prevention and cure. Also Dr. Gabriel Cousins has had some great success in treating disease through raw fruit and vegetable based diets. Best of luck to you.

Being addicted to sugar can be a Candida Albicans problem . Candida loves sugar and yeast and gets stronger on it. Also weight gain on the hips and bum can be caused by diary allergy which comes alongside Candida albicans infestation. Research and try to get rid of the Candida and dieting will be easier. Hope this helps.

How did it work out? I'm about to embark on a 2 day fast starting tomorrow. Been thinking of possibly fasting every Sunday though...not sure whether that's necessary or a 2 day fast once a month is better. I'm new to it all!

Sincerely, nothing special. Just my stomach feels a little empty. I have exactly 48H 10min. I didn't feel any starving. I feel like a buddha or a psychopath. Because I have not sleept 2 days and a half in a row. And also I didn't masturbate for 2 days in a row.

At masturbate, the first hours were like HELL.

But after that nothing special.

The only "stimuli" that make me want sometimes (extremely briefly) to wish to abort any of these 3 is boredom. It's like you don''t have anything to do, sitting alone in a room, so what to do? Eating? This is me.

But not affected.

However, I am STILL HERE Fasting, Not Sleeping, Not Masturbating.

Now, I really don't know if I should feel proud of it.

All this stuff officialy begun on the 1st February.

My objectives:

Fasting - losing fat from face (at body I'm already thing) - I would initially do it for 5 days, if not 11.
Not sleeping - until I get pale like DEATH. (2 days more let's say)
Not masturbate - health, aestetics (11 days) - to prove myself that I CAN.

After reading this, i went and fasted for 30 hours (i was shooting for longer but someone handed me the most delicious looking strawberry I'd ever seen). I learned that there's a difference between eating out of hunger and out of boredom. Also, when you're hungry, healthy options sound just as good if not better than junk food. Id like to fast for 7 days to see what your friend was talking about, but that's for a different time. P.s. The strawberry WAS delicious!

Well I have just completed 49 hours and have no energy at all so just resting . I have just drunk pure water ,lemon juice in water and ginger root for 49 hours . Eaten nil . Had the enema . And now bored ! But only 22 hours to go . Tried to eat the soup suggested for today ( it's wheatgrass, a little marmite veggie flavouring and canine pepper . It is horrendous . I am burning everywhere . Tomorrow will do lymphatic brushing and hot bath and look forward to an apple at 9 pm 72 hours completed and I feel awful . But not as bad as I did before after having chemo treatment . But strong will is the thing and being far away from any food source. It's awful !!but you will feel good when it's done . I have to say I am booking myself into winchester fasting centre for 5 days next month , will be easier with help !

Fasting is insanely rewarding. My max was 21 days on just water. After about the 3rd to 5th day it gets easier as your body adjusts to more effeciency. For me the hardest was getting past the 24 hour mark or 2nd dinner. The thing that got me hooked is the amount of time you save not looking for food.. Preparing to eat.. And deciding what to eat along with travel time. The clarity of mind and thoughts become like a super power. . Love it.

21 days???! How on earth? Did you lose much weight over that time? I'm starting a 2 day fast tomorrow, (well as of tonight really), and then I'm considering not eating at all every Sunday. Either that or perhaps a two day fast once a month. Don't know what the best idea is.

I've been fasting for 3 days now and still going. I'm doing it for a different reason than you. But I've noticed I've been real mad at the world, dizzy, weak. Earlier today I collapsed in my bathroom floor. It's also causing a toll on my heart too. But I need to do this. And also my body shut diwn on food period because I tried to eat and spit it right back out.

Hi I basically haven't been fasting but I haven't eaten for 5 days and I actually like the fact that I lived on juice or water and nuffink else .Would actually like to do what you did .So any information would be good.

48 hrs fast followed by one meal feast, followed by 48 hrs fast!!! I am able to do 48 hrs no food with very little temptation. I am able to bust out 300 swings with a 32 kg kettlebell and another half hour of snatches at 24 kg Kettlebell. I am on a weight loss attempt. I stress eat and I am a chef so I decided to teach myself discipline and have a kettlebell swing session everytime I stress!! Week one has been pretty good!!

Happy New Year Noah, and happy to hear of your fasting goal. It inspired me to recommit to fasting 24-32hrs twice a month (*No food or water).

I volunteer at a yoga center in CA and live with monks who practice a yogic fast 4x/month.

They believe it's a secret to long life because it gives your digestive system a rest, reset/detox, and add's up over your lifetime. (For example, an Indian monk has fasted 4x/month for the past 50 years. That equals 2,400 days, or 6.5 years of giving your system a rest and cleaning it out!)

This system of yogic fasting has a duration from sunrise to sunrise. You begin at sunrise on the fasting day (or the night before) and refrain from eating and drinking at least 24 hours.

On the next day, you break fast by drinking lemon water with salt. I drink 2 cups of warm lemon water with at least a tablespoon of salt. The lemon and salt help to eliminate many toxins from your body and 40mins-1hour later you will run to the toilet and be amazed at what comes out. (*Be prepared to use the toilet 4/5 times consecutively.)

Next, I'll eat some fruit and Atiba's famous oatmeal for breakfast and hydrate with coconut water, fresh squeezed OJ, or tea. It's amazing how heightened your sense of smell and taste are during/after fasting. I also have a fresh appreciation for simple foods that I eat every day.

Last year, I did this at least once a month and learned a few things.

1. Fasting is easy if you prepare the day before. Prepare physically by eating and drinking enough the day before. Prepare mentally by deciding the night before “Tomorrow is a fasting day, and I am not going to eat or drink anything.” If you don’t set this mental determination, during the fasting day you will start to think “Maybe I should eat XYZ because of XYZ and fast another day!” Set a strong determination beforehand and it's much easier to complete your fast.

2. Stay active and in nature, but not 14 mile bike ride active..keep it light and early in the day, you'll be low energy come night.

3. Group support helps. When the people around you are fasting too it's easy. When people are eating and cooking around you it's tough.

I just did my first fast yesterday as an experiment to get back into ketosis as fast as possible after a cheat meal. Besides the stomach muscles squeezing, I learned it doesn't hamper physical strength and action. I expected to feel fatigued but instead found myself full of energy. It felt enlivening to experience hunger.

I walked six miles during the day starting from the first moments of the morning. And this morning, I measured my blood ketones and to my amazement, 0.6mmol.

Fasting goes with praying and study of the word of God. If not, it is starvation. Fasting is a spiritual exercise that enables us have better fellowship with God and raises our antenna to hear him better. It is profitable ro all things. You separate yourself from food and people and focus on God. It also helps to control your weight etc

I just finished my fasting today started Monday and ended it on Wed.... The temptation from food bruh... I was going crazy... So I just drank water for 2whole days and man did I walk and walk and walk... I started moving so slowly... U could not get me to hurry any at all... Now that I ate... I feel sick... Like stuffed my stomach hates the food... Restarting it (fast) tomorrow for 48 hours then break for a day then go 5 days! Wish me luck!

Just finished reading this over a bowl of stewed prunes (that have almost zero sweetness left because I drank off the water they were soaking in a few times over the last two days) after giving up about 46 hours into a planned 72 hour fast. And it wasn't even a strict fast, I had lots of homemade vegetable broth and a few fresh-squeezed fruit juices.I felt great at times but the last few hours have been hell. My metabolism is really high and I'm thin which is why I never did it before. Oy.

Ive actually been fasting, im on hour 62. Ive felt really lightheaded, but not that hungry. Hidration is everything! I also drink green tea(no sugar, no milk) for the hunger pains. Red tea works too but theres none at home atm. It feels very cleansing to be empty!

I often accidentally fast for 24 hours. I guess I must just have a small stomach because I'm never hungry, I get full on a small amount of food and I literally always have to remind myself to eat because I don't notice how long it's been since my last meal. I am currently trying 60 hours to see if I end up hungry or not. I'm 50 hours in and I haven't had a single wave of hunger yet. I also haven't lost any weight, like you did. 7 pounds is an insane amount to lose in 2.5 days. I guess my body is just happy on only a little fuel? Only thing I have to report is that I do get very slight lightheadedneas upon standing.

I have been fasting for (so far) 30 and a half hours. I plan on trying for 60 hours but seeing how i feel tomorrow! I don't feel that hungry but a bit afraid because i should be hungry by now, you know? My feet are a bit clammy but i feel as though my body has reset. Good article!

I'm going 42 hours without eating as prep for a colonoscopy. 38 hours in. Found your article while searching for what I could do to keep from eating for a few more hours. I'm hangry! I like the idea of the 24 hour fast once a month, or even once a week.

Hi, It's been 4 days for me now and I was quite weak even before I started fast (due to illness). Am so weak now I can hardly stand. So I am ready to break my fast. Made sure I had absolutely nothing edible in house. But at this point I am not sure I can make it anywhere to get food. So I will get something delivered (am concerned I will pass out in front of delivery person). But anyway, will my symtoms go away simply by eating? Or might there be something else going on?

Your body was going into ketosis, which is switching over from using glucose as fuel to producing ketones in the liver. Something along those lines. If you want to try this again: Drink more water. Whatever you were drinking, drink more. Supplement with electrolytes. Potassium, sodium, magnesium and zinc. When you're fasting, your body spends all the saved fuel it stores in your muscles and liver. Part of this process is flushing of water - which is why you lost all that weight (which all came back in 2-3 days I'm certain). It wasn't real weight - it was water weight. When it flushes like that, it takes a lot of stuff with it, minerals you kind of need. You get cranky and feel like garbage without them - kind of like when you're dehydrated or hung over, sort of. Anyway, 60 hours is nothing, but it helps if you supplement when you're crossing over into ketosis.

I decided a couple of days ago randomly that I wanted to see how long I can go without food. I was gonna set the goal for 7 days. I am at 59 hours right now. I still feel fairly well for the most part. I've wanted to eat at times but I over powered the urges barely. I'm shooting for 72 hours to 84 hours. People in my family don't like my experiment so I've decided I would cut it short. I'm doing this for mind strength to see how strong willed I can push myself to be. And I wanna feel the experience. I will keep posted how I make out.

I'm on hour 36 of a three day fast, which was suppose to initially be a five day fast but since I'm going wine tasting (I know, I know, I knoooowwwww) this weekend I thought I should probably cut it short two days and ease back into solids. Juice, nuts, broths, HAMBURGERS. Kidding. Errrr...The hunger has come and gone, it's the low energy and fuzzy head that has really been tough. My poor kids right now, all I can do is literally lay down when I'm not at work. I googled intermittent fasting last night after 24 hours of fasting and am actually pretty stoked to incorporate that into my lifestyle. Anyway, half way done, only 36 more hours to go!

Hello! I'm currently fasting...so far 18 hrs and 17 min and 42... haha! I'm not hungry at all. I've read so much on fasting over the past few weeks it seems like a good thing to do to get rid of toxins and increase HGH etc
Whilst I'm not hungry, I am thinking of my favourite foods a fair bit, boiled eggs, avocado...mmm I think I'm looking forward to dinner! I will try slowly increase the number of hours, I've been doing up to 16 hours the past while so the jump to 24 hours isn't that uch. I can see me doing it fairly regularly for the rest of my time on this wonderful planet!
Happy fasting!
Sheena

Hi , I've been fasting for 2 whole days now no water no food no sleep . I'm in bed now but its like I could stay awake maybe another night . deffently need some water though . but NO FOOD last meal eaten was hungry jacks haha so I'm cleaning my body of all the junk and I want to see how far I can go , I was nearly going to quit today but I must see it threw ?

I fast for about 24 hours every day. When I do eat I try to cap it at less than 700 calories. I honestly tend to eat about 5 times a week with zero snacks. Down well over 30 lbs. I save a ton of money and if there is ever a crisis where food becomes scarce I will be so set.

Well, having suddenly won tickets to a pretty important event (I found out yesterday - Sunday - and the event is Wednesday) I realised that in my currently overweight state, I was feeling in no way confident to go along and still feel okay about my appearance. I did some Googling about emergency crash diets (I am fully aware this is a last-resort option and not some long-term solution), and figured I'd just go with fasting for the three days I had left. It's currently 2.30pm on Monday and all I've consumed today is one mug of green tea (unsweetened), one cup of black coffee (unsweetened), and a large glass of lemon water with ice. Have also popped a strong multivitamin to be safe, and am taking some acai berry tablets I had in the cupboard that I'd forgotten about. Still feeling fine. First thing I noticed by about lunch time is how I was feeling ridiculously un-bloated, which is something I suffer from a lot, but had stopped noticing.

Now, I'm over 200lbs, so I'm not expecting to look different by Wednesday evening, but I'm very much hoping that just having gone through this process will make me feel better about myself, and not feeling bloated will be a huge plus for my confidence.

I have no idea how I'll feel about all this tonight, or tomorrow morning, or tomorrow lunch time, or a day after that - it could be complete torture. However, I have pathologically low willpower, so if I can get through, it will be amazing to know I can and I might start doing it once a month. Plus, I am most definitely using this as a launch pad for eating a lot more healthily for long-term weight loss.

I've been doing a half day fast for about 40 days (religious reasons) but I had some gaps and now I'm finishing it off with a 60 hour fast,I'm in my 24 hour mark and i find it hard to explain to people why I'm doing this when they ask me why I'm not eating. What I realize is that I have a clear mind and I understand my impulses more. For instance if I saw something I wanted to eat really badly, my mind would come up with a billion reasons why I could break mymy fast. I notice that I'm good at making excuses for things I don't need but want and of course for things I need to do but don't want to (pro-procrastinator). I agree that having a buddy to encourage u makes it a lot easier, I recommend for first-timers to find a partner.

I just read this because I have been fasting for 36 hours now consuming nothing but water, and one cup of Chai tea. This is the second time I've done this, but more successful than the first, the first time a few weeks ago I had a banana in the middle of it. I kind of got a headache yesterday at work, but after taking a tylonal it went away. I got a little hungry last night after work, but left all forms of money at home so I couldn't spend it to buy food, and when I god home, I felt a little weak and shakey. I decided to go to bed, and woke up at 7 am this morning feeling refreshed, and not hungry. This makes 36 hours almost exactly because the last time I consumed food was around 8pm Tuesday. After going so long not eating, I've realized I eat more because I'm bored than anything, and I have learned that to control my intake, It might help to keep myself occupied. I was planning on only fasting for one day, but I'm curious to see how far I can go.

I am just completeing a 48 hrs fast. You're right it takes discipline and somtimes you are not hungry but you tend to eat because your mind says so. I just got a little light headed and a few cramps, I was good for the most part. I did my regular chores and also cook for the family.

I googled this because I'm at Hour 54 of a 60-hour Fast. The last six hours should be easy as I should be spending them asleep. 🙂 I hope to jump start a diet with this. I need to lose about 30 pounds, but five or so would be a Good Start. Thanks for writing your blog--

Just fasted for 48 hours. Fist 24 was great and my blood sugar stayed on track, wasn't very hungry. Second day, very hungry and weak, not very clear minded. Was going to do 72 hours but my blood sugar was getting low. Anything more than 24 hours is probably a bad idea as a diabetic. I learned I can get the energy and satisfaction I needed from smaller healthy meals after the experience.

For some odd reason, I haven't been able to finish my meals for the last couple of days. I eat only a little something for breakfast but I start to feel sick a little over halfway through. Because of this, I have been skipping lunch and dinner. Admittedly, I've never actually gone a whole 24 hours without eating (I got pretty lose though), but I have learned a few things:
1.) Hunger is simply a feeling, not some kind of immediate emergency that you need to drop everything for.
2.) Sometimes, I never know when I'm in need of food out of hunger or out of boredom and fasting has helped me to decide that it's usually out of boredom (though sometimes out of hunger).
3.) Going back to your usual eating habits is both easy and hard at the same time. For example, when I tried to have dinner the first night, I became EXTREMELY hungry. A little over halfway into my meal, however, I started to feel sick and I almost hurled (gross, I know, but true).
4.) I looked on other sites about why this was happening. I didn't find a reason, but I learned that people actually fast for 24 hours to lose fat and gain muscle.
5.) If you see someone fasting, it's not always because of an eating disorder or religious purposes; people who value self-experimentation and/or are doing this for a diet (it actually works depending on how long you fast, like don't fast for 5-6 days, fast for maybe 1-2 tops)
6.) Fasting puts things into perspective. Usually, we tend to dismiss food advertisements, but once you start fasting, these advertisements become less subtle and the malicious intentions of the fast food restaurants (not that they're actually evil, but they take your money and make you gain weight. Never mind, they're evil)

I am currently on day five and want to go seven...mine is more for spiritual clarity but after I got past two days, it became alarmingly easy to not eat. In fact, I do not crave food, even the juicy burgers on t.v., that usually get my stomach juices rumbling like a bear. I am overweight. I have never been before but since I hit the 45 year mark as a single mom, I kind of just exploded without knowing it. There is a great benefit to it, spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally....I know after day seven, it will be a slow ease back into food; broth, etc. I have been wondering though.....when people are starving, literally, you hear that the crave food constantly but I felt that need completely disappear after day two. I wonder if my experience is not normal or if my survival instincts are not up to par, or more likely, my body had fat stores that it switched to and knew there was plenty of. I have lost almost my entire gut and did not expect that. I did get nauseated at one point and felt light headed but it was surprisingly easy to do.

I did 36 hours a couple of weeks ago, after reading Nate Eliason's post about a 5 day fast. I loved the sensation of being in control of my body by choosing not to eat. I also really liked the brain boost I got part way through.

I'm already part way through another fast. I plan on 48 hours this time. Hour 18 just ticked by. I'm really surprised how easy it seems. Black coffee is my secret, though. Lots of water and black coffee.

I just fasted for five days. I became lovesick, and lost my appetite for the entire time, losing my feeling of hunger. I felt fine until this morning, when my heart rate upon waking up was 104. I am 23 and healthy with a usually very low heart rate. I figured this was a sign that I should eat, and once I smelled the bagel cooking, I suddenly felt hunger. I would do 24 hours, or even 48 again, but 5 days I think is my limit.

I'm at 48+ hours and food is starting to look gross. I can't even think about food without gagging. I love food, this is a new thing. I wasn't fasting intentionally, but it's been a learning experience all the same. Low energy, but I can drag myself to work just fine. Not eating as much gives me a lot of time to kill, time I didn't have before.

I fast for at least 16 hours every day (I only have lunch and dinner, approximately at 2:30 pm and 8 pm respectively). Once or twice a week I only have dinner - of course, a more calorie-dense dinner than a regular one.

Once every few weeks or even once a week I go a whole day without eating, meaning that if I have dinner on Sunday, I don't eat anything at all on Monday and my next meal is Tuesday's lunch, so I fast for about 40 hours. When I do this I try to make it a water fast, so I don't drink tea, juice or coffee.

I started doing this because I tried the 5:2 diet (where I'm supposed to have just 500 cals a day twice a week) and found that not eating altogether is way easier than eating just 500 cals. Food only makes me crave more food, so eating just 500 cals and stopping there is way more challenging for me than avoiding food and not thinking about it altogether.

I know some people need to 'get ready' for a long fast by having lighter meals the previous days. I read once that your very last meal before a fast should be vegetarian. I just can't do that. If I give vegetables to my digestive system, my body is going to want more food and I get terrible hunger pangs.

So while my last meal before a long fast is NOT a binge -I don't stuff my face- I do eat very dense foods, like German-style rye bread and lots or nuts or nut butters. This kind of foods 'sit' in my stomach nicely and I find that if I have a dense meal like that, the next day I don't get hungry at all or get just very light hunger. Actually, most times I break my fast I feel like I could have fasted for longer with no problem at all.

I just do what works for me and at the moment I'm quite happy with the results. I'm actually ending one of the long fasts. My last meal was dinner 2 days ago -was done eating by 9 pm-, I didn't have food at all yesterday and today I'm breaking my fast at 2:30-3 pm. That's a 41-hour fast. I have another full-day water fast programmed for next week.

Another reason why I prefer a full-day fast (that is usually around 36 hours or longer) rather than a 24-hour fast (breakfast to breakfast, lunch to lunch or dinner to dinner) is that I used to have a problem with binge eating and I've realized that when you completely abstain from eating for a whole day and see everyone else around you having 3+ meals during that amount of time, you get a new appreciation for food. You realize that you won't die for going a whole day without food, and at the same time you see as something precious that nourishes and fuels your body, not something that you should gorge on. You get the importance of it.

Also, when you have gone a whole day without food and have realized just how valuable it is, when you break your fast the next day you don't want your first meal to consist of fast food or some crap. You want REAL food, something that will do good to your body. Your body treated you well by withstanding the day-long deprivation of food you put it through, so pay it back and treat your body well by giving it quality nourishment and NOT stuffing your face when you DO give it food - you'll actually find it hard to binge during the first meal after a fast.

I'd say that I have now a healthier relationship with food. I now eat more mindfully. Completely abstaining from food for a whole day changes your relationship with food and gives you a new perspective. Even if you are dubious about the possible benefits of fasting, it is something that I seriously recommend. Everybody should try it at least once and see how their body responds.

I have water fasted on and off for three months.The longest I went without food of any kind was five days,but I must qualify that statement with the fact that at the start of my water fasting I was 265Lbs at 5'4".I was what is called morbidly obese,so my body had a lot of fuel to burn off in the form of fat and some muscle,In six months I went from 265Lbs to 215Lbs which is a lot for myself.I would recommend intermittent fasting with a doctors approval,just make sure that you always have filtered water near by and you will need to drink for your body to continue it's normal processes.

I haven't eaten for about 29.5 hours. I have experiences two pangs of hunger since then. The first 24 hours were unintentional- just too busy to eat. So far it has been relatively easy. I haven't experienced any nausea or stomach upset. but I do plan on continuing this impromptu fast til the end of today, just for science. I'll probably cave and eat some breakfast tomorrow.

It's been 4 days since I last ate. Zero appetite and yesterday had to do a 14 hr job which would be considered full body workout. Oilfield stuffs. Cleaning a cring, lots of chemicals. Yum. Well by hr 10 my stomach started going haywire. Not hungry but kept burping and shit. Drank two 2 litres of water and kept going. After 14 hrs we were heading home and stomach hurts pretty bad. But not unbearable. Had to get driver to pull over because I hD that nausea feeling. Had just drank another small bottle of water. Ended up throwing that up with an excessive amount of yellow stuff. Have I gone too far? Neck and shoulders are burning and hurt so bad. I'm not new to this type of work. But doing it with the lack of food I think had roughy me how food for the body is like gas to your car.
I do think I should eat something now cus the loss already is insanely noticeable. But one problem. I have absolutely no desire to eat... I'm sitting here trying to force myself and I'm still just sitting in my car.

Thanks for the article, Noah! I am going on my 22nd hour of fasting, and I definitely feel low-energy. I love that you put in this post that you lost 7 lbs., but I'm more excited that you advised not to use this as a dieting tool and more as a tool to bring awareness to how we eat foot and why we eat it.

I have been fasting for 36 hours once a month for a couple of months now. Once you set your mind to do it, it really is a lot easier than you might imagine.

I was surprised at the lack of adverse reactions my body experiences; i.e no headaches, bearable hunger, no stomach pains. The only problem I experience is poor sleep pattern whilst undertaking the fast. I therefore make sure I fast at weekends, so it is not a problem.

You're probably not reading the comments anymore, but after I stumbled upon this during my own experiment with it, I wanted to comment. I'm overweight and trying to use this as a weight loss, been trying ALOT of different things over the past 4-5 years now and currently on hour 33 (I know, not long yet) but honestly, I don't feel much difference between now and 3 days ago when I was eating normally. I take Vitamin+Mineral supplements, Omega-3 supplements and drink ALOT of water and coffee. Only problem was that I had an unusual hard time sleeping. Took me 1 hour to fall asleep and woke up several times during the night. I might eventually get some protein in me so it doesn't start tearing at muscles but I'll just cook half a chicken filet or something similar with low/no fat but pure protein.

I've now fasted for 5 days. I've lost several pounds and no longer have the urge for food. I just want my water. I know my stomach grumblings along with my current weakness are my body's way of saying that I need food. I plan to reintroduce a "liquid diet" for a few days to not overtax my system.

First of all congrats on sticking to your plan! You might not visit this page anymore, but to future viewers who are thinking about doing something close to this and wanna know what someone else experienced. So for 3 days now I been eating twice a day, in the morning it's usually 2 eggs and a bread, and then for dinner something random but nothing too big. At first I was like wow I haven't eaten and its not bad, by the 3rd day its like wow I'm missing not having 3 complete meals. A good amount of my friends do it for their religions, and well because I wanna show them respect, I'm gonna start doing it with them but also for me to help me lose weight, and to just overall have the experience. So I started 3 days ago, and the last time I ate was a chicken sandwhich from Chick-fil-a, with a sweet tea and small fries around 6pm. 18 hours have passed, I wasn't able to sleep at night, so i just stayed up reading on my laptop, but getting up i felt so lightheaded, it was a difference experience, I could see my hands and fingers moving, but it didn't feel as I was the one doing it.. I took 2 sleeping pills around 4 in the morning and another 2 around 10-11 am, and ive only had a water bottle. Im not sure how you were able to do it for that long and all while doing all those activities. 6 more hours and I would be completing 24 hours. I may do this weekly or bi-weekly. I do feel weak, but that could also have to be with the fact I didnt sleep, when I stop to look around say my hands, i can see them shake, I guess another key is to not think about the fact you aren't eating for a while. I do have a 12 hour shift soon and it's hard to be able to eat since i'll be on the road and stopping to get a bite is pretty hard, so ill for sure eat after my shift, so that'll put me at 36 hours at the end. I'm not sure if its because of the caffeine pills but my stomach is just... i cant explain. I guess hard to stay on topic and concentrate will get harder as i reread this and see how I talk about one thing, then something else, then go back to one top and blah blah. well to anyone trying, good luck!

This was a great read, I've been reading about these fastings and it is so amazing how you all can stay so grounded. I want to do this, not for the weightloss but for the great reason you mentioned. To remind yourself that you don't really need that much food. And when you do to be mindful. I have been in this horrible cylce of diet binge diet binge. I want to be able to hear my body body better.

Once again thank you for the great post.
I'll try and post another commentbon day 5!

Hey Noah it's really not that dramatic. I've done a 10 day fast no problem. I was walking daily and a bit of yoga during the fast instead of my usual run/gym/swim and it was cool. The trick is the other side - coming back to food - I love to eat and just wolfing down heaps after you've been fasting a while isn't what you want to do. Ease back into it with a couple of soups, some tea and juices and you're up and running normally the next day or so.

Fasting 24 hours a week is actually a pretty good idea if you want to sharpen up mentally and physically. Not sure about your heart thing but going out for big bike rides etc while fasting is a dumb move for sure. Good luck.

Realize that I am late to the party here, but I was doing a search and this post came up. Good job on the 50-hours and don"t feel ashamed: I have cut fasts short from time to time because something felt "off." I do a 30-ish hour fast once a week -- been doing that since July '14. I do a 5-day fast every three months -- I have two under my belt. I also like to work in a 60-hour fast once-or-so every month if I'm coming off an indulgent weekend.

I would like to reiterate what a few others have said: NO strenuous exercise during the fasts, except to end them. I will usually have a protein shake right before the exercise, too. And by strenuous I mean anything more than going for 20-40-minute walk. I think this is crucial to the point of saying that exercising during a fast is breaking a cardinal rule of fasting.

I do allow myself coffee and lots of it, each time with a splash of milk and Stevia. But none after 1pm, or it disrupts my sleep.

I fasted for 60 Hours Easter Weekend. I have also lost 6 pounds. No other affects other than spotted hunger,not major. I have never fasted over one day before. I an thinking about fasting another 12 hours, and calling it quits.

I suffered from an eating disorder in high school and it started when I tried fasting for 24 hours, from that point I would only eat one small meal a day though and finally stopped once I fainted while getting a haircut. I had been wanting to try fasting for 24 hours again but that had been preventing me from trying it for a long time. I finally tried it part of yesterday/today. I couldn't tell you how many times I thought about food. I tried to get past it by drinking plenty of water and it somewhat helped though thinking about what all I was eating before this I realize I was eating way too much. I'm starting to get a regular exercise plan going and want to start eating better as well, fasting helped me realize not only how much I ate but exactly what I was eating. I'm hoping to start eating in smaller portions, and get some fruit and veggies to snack on throughout the day when I get hungry.

I've just finished a 24hr fast and I've realised that half the time, I'm eating because "Its dinner time and I have to". I eat even if I'm not hungry because of time cues and it's made me more alert of whether I am hungry or if Im just eating because it's the socially acceptable time to eat.

Awesome article im actually doing a 50 hour fast and so far im in 34 hours and I'm hanging in there. But I do feel weird specially at night my heart start actin up but in my case it's mind over matter lol anyways awesome article keep up the great writing thanks for your useful info!!

First of all, I loved reading that. I admire that you accepted a challenge not only to test your strength, but to discover what outcomes (if any) there would be. You experimented on yourself and learned valuable lessons from it. As a Muslim, I have fasted before during Ramadan, and I have to say that it teaches discipline, patience, and appreciation. I haven't eaten anything today from 12 pm to now (12:03 AM)- just because I didn't feel hungry/ had a lot to do- and I feel so alive. It's crazy how calm, relaxed, and focused I am. I am interesting in fasting for 24 hours now, and looking forward to it. 🙂

Noah! You're not supposed to exercise when you're fasting or to start a fast cold turkey. You are supposed to modify your diet the week beforehand and take it relatively easy during a fast. I've read a lot about it, which is why I've never done it : )

I'm currently on the 36th hour and feeling great! I've read in many places that the better you eat beforehand, the easier the fast will be. Beforehand, I ate foods like brown rice, chicken, some oats, bananas, apples, beans and a couple of greens. It's not the best, but it's not jam doughnuts and biscuits either.

I have much more energy available and I have much clearer thinking. I think my plan is to fast 24 hours once a week and do a 3 day fast once every 1 and a half months or something. Doing things like cold showers, meditation and fasting really helps you get out of the "automative" mode where you're just going through each day doing your usual habits (some may be bad habits) and not really being in the present.

I have been dieting and using IF now for just over 3 months and never thought about going 24hr let alone 60 hours. I've always just eaten when I wanted and after doing this experiment I can now see that I eat when I'm not hungry most of the time... like yourself I will be introducing a monthly 24hr fast.

Great post Noah, really inspired me to think more about what and when I eat!

Im a bit more than 2 hours in, on the 24 hour fasting.
Really excited to see how my body will react to this - i lift weigths just like you.
I usally eat 4-5 times a day, big meals, so this is quite different! 😉

Fasting complete! It was more around 25 hours, and it was a great experience.

I expected it to be very hard but it was surprisingly easy. I kept myself busy working on something that really matters to me so for the most part I forgot about what time it was and when I should eat because I was so engaged.

I found out that for me eating can also be an excuse to take a break or stop doing something I don't really want to do. When I was doing the more tedious part of my work that's when I kept thinking about grabbing something to eat.

I feel proud of myself for deciding to do something and keeping my word. It also felt good to do something for myself that goes against the norm and not caring about other people's opinions. I immediately got negative feedback from people who heard about it regarding my health or that they simply didn't see the point and thought I shouldn't do it. I smiled inside and thought to myself "shouldn't doing something (legal!) because I decide to do it be reason enough?" I'm glad I did it.

I encourage people to try, it really isn't that hard when you put your mind to it and it makes you feel more in control of your life!

You mentioned Food = Energy, but I like to think about food as a drug. It kicks off physiological reactions depending on what its nutrient composition is. So think about what kind of reactions you want to induce (quick spike? steady output? etc) and then work backwards from there to figure out how to achieve it. All calories are not created equal =)

Good timing that I found this post. I've got 1.5 more hours left on my 24 hour fast. Been drinking lots of water and oolong tea to help. I started when I had my last bite last night at 7pm. This is my 4th time this month. I wanted to try it cause my body turned to shit after traveling in Asia for 4 months.

I read Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon and the benefits of fasting. I've always been a guy who thought breakfast was the most important meal of the day and if I got the slightest bit hungry, I'd get headaches or be in a bad mood.

However since I've done these fasts, I don't get those headaches, my mind is clear, I don't get sleepy from eating a ton of food and then crashing.

But besides doing 24 hr fasts 1-2 times week been doing intermittent fasting. I go from 12-8 for eating and don't break my fast till 12pm the next day. I feel great in the mornings and throughout the day.

Also there is the Leangains.com that I learned about for losing fat and gaining muscle. I don't follow that because I'm not lifting heavy weights like it recommends. Maybe in the future.

So what I have learned is that food is so important in how we perform. I'm so used to just eating whatever so no wonder I would always need to nap in the afternoon, or get really bad headaches. I also realize I don't need to eat for 24 hours and I'll be fine. I even exercise in the morning and have plenty of energy.

P.S. Last night listened to some of your interview with Pat Flynn. Awesome interview so far. My favorite on his podcast for sure so far.

I did a 14 day fast in the south of Thailand. Only coconut water & very thin veggie broth+colonics. It was intense. I'm not sure I would do it again but after the two weeks I felt amazing and very clear minded.

I fast every week from after dinner Sunday until I eat dinner on Monday. It's only about 20-22 hours, but its a great weekly habit. I find, like you, that it helps to center my mind and remove my (very human) fixation on food.

I've done a handful of 3 and 4 day fasts, enjoyable experiences for sure.

When you look at food as "gas to fill the tank" you also need to look at activities as "using the gas that's not there". I usually cut all my workouts when fasting as my body needs all the energy it has just to survive.

I see where you're going with the "why eat if not hungry" bit but I don't really agree, especially for someone as active as you seem to be. I eat to fuel my body. If I have a workout in a couple hours it doesn't matter if I'm hungry, I will eat at least a light meal of protein and carbs so that I'm not hungry throughout the workout/activity and my body has energy to draw on. I'm more focused on getting all I can out of my workout. Also I never feel like eating after a workout but that hour after is the most vital time to fuel your muscles and recover faster. Not to play the devil's advocate, but just putting in my two cents.

Also I love your comment on pre-portioned snacks, it's the best way to go.

Thanks for sharing your journey! Not sure if mine counts as a fast or not. I'm doing the Isagenix 30 day, and doing a deep cleanse 1 day a week. So on that day, I just drink this cleansing drink. I've only done 1 so far but I learned:
1. Eatings is so often mindless- as you said, eat dinner because it's getting dark. We don't actually check in with our bodies to see if we are actually hungry!
2. Food is fuel, but it is also an experience- as a dancer and dance and Pilates instructor, I get the food as fuel part. But I was never a foodie. I truly couldn't have cared less. I think this time away gives me more appreciation of the texture, flavor, smell, sound.
3. We need less than we think we do- and I bet this applies to more than just food.

I do intermittent fasting (from 6 pm to about 7-8 am), and that's the most I'll do. I have a really fast metabolism and am prone to low blood pressure and hypoglycemia, so the whole "real" fasting thing feels too dangerous to me.

What's funny is that today I had my longest intermittent fasting (6 pm last night to noon today), and I needed to eat way more today, including 2 bullet proof crio brus instead of 1. And I went for a jog. While I'd never do what you did - I'm tiny, and I managed to hurt people twice my size when my blood sugar got too low, and they thought I would be funny to block my path - the fact I do intermittent fasting, and that I've experienced some of the symptoms you described made your whole post come to life for me. Like you wrote "Reading is Shit. Experience is Gold". The fact that I've experienced something similar gave your story more impact and weigth.

By the way, I'm stealing "Reading is Shit. Experience is Gold" as a life motto.

Hey Noah, 60 hours seems like quite the stretch! With all that physical activity in the mix I'm not surprised your body went a little nuts.

I I've been doing intermittent fasting for about 2 months now, 16/8. I honestly feel a lot better not eating until about 1:00 PM and only eating until 9. My weight hasn't really changed, but I have had people telling me I look like I'm putting on weight, so I'm guessing that I'm losing body fat and gaining muscle (I'm alright with that).

I usually do some kind of cardio in the AM, bodybuilding style workouts in the afternoon, and yoga here and there.

60 hours is crazy, if you do give it another go, let us know what happens. Thanks for sharing your results and keep up all the awesome work you do.

So, I did just a little more than 24 hours of fasting. Can't remember doing anything like that before. I started fasting shortly after lunch yesterday, then started eating again this afternoon. Learnt a few things:
- It was very tempting to read the post and think "yeah great I'll start tomorrow". Instead I asked myself, "why not start now, immediately?". It's always easier to postpone things that then end up not happening. This is something I need to get better on, so starting straight away was good for me.
- I mentioned this to 3 people. One thought it sounded crazy but fun, another had done something similar and was supportive. The third questioned why I would do such a thing, whether it would harm me and thought it unnecessary and a bit pointless. Good lesson in how even small change can create reactions. This made me consider how I present my ideas and the people I choose to share ideas with.
- Once decided, not eating wasn't so bad, even though I cooked for two others and had to watch them wolf down one of my favourite dishes. I felt free. Somehow the simple decision to not eat for a while and break norms made me feel powerful.
- Starting to eat again, I felt that I was eating much more mindfully.

I am now considering doing this more regularly - why not? Thanks for the challenge Noah, it was a great experiment!

I've been experimenting with fasting (intermittent) for the past couple of weeks. I attempted to fast for 38 hours (9pm Sunday was last food - 11am Tuesday was next food) three weeks ago and couldn't do it. I felt exhausted, irritable, and was starving (or so I thought) by 4pm on Monday evening. I fed myself and decided I was going to try it again the following week.

Mission accomplished 🙂 The second time I kept my mind busy with work and convinced myself that if I could just get to 4pm (the failure point from the previous week) that I could make it all the way until the finish. Keeping occupied until 4pm proved fairly simple and after that it was easy.

I've done it again (finishing today actually) of another 38 hours and it's even easier the second time 🙂 It probably helps that I "fast" 16 hours per day regularly but it really is a mental game.

I've learned that the habit of eating is tough to get through but once you realize that you will not die from not eating every few hours it is quite liberating to realize that you aren't a slave to food.

My mental function peaks around the 16 hours mark I've found and slowly declines as the time passes but it does really make you aware of your food intake.

I've become more productive, decreased my body fat (not a skinny dude like you), and felt like I've taken back control of my life (I know that sounds cheesy). Having the self-control makes decision-making in other aspects of my life easier.

I don't know if I will push for 50 hours anytime soon but I'm going to continue on with the small (16 hour) fasts daily.

Thanks for being open with your struggles and what some of your failures are. It is really quite refreshing to see people I view as successful embracing those failures and sharing what they learn from them.

You may feel a little guilty about ending early, but it seems you succeeded quite nicely in one of the most important areas of all: listening to yourself. I can't think of many people who have succeeded by ignoring their own internal dialog/ feelings/ thoughts/ etc in lieu of blindly following some other person's secret-to-success. Growing and pushing past your boundaries is important, but so is getting in touch with what works for you, as an individual.

Case in point: As a migraine sufferer, I would have to be in a hostage situation before I went 60 hours without food. In fact, if I get a little cocky and push it much past 5 or 6 hours, there's likely going to be hell to pay. In my case it would probably be more beneficial to be conscious of the duration between meals, rather than eliminating food altogether. You could argue I would yield similar results (discipline, paying attention), from nearly the exact opposite process... but only if I know how to listen to what my mind and body are personally trying to tell me.

I recently lost 35lbs by taking bits and pieces of varying disciplines. Paleo, 4-hour body, intermittent fasting. Paleo in that I mostly removed processed foods, no rice, sugar, bread, pasta, 4HR body, by eating the same food everyday and a cheat on Sunday. I save my social eating for Sundays and eat whatever I want, not overeat, just whatever i want. This let's my body know all is well and it's not starving. I follow that with a fast to knock my insulin levels back to normal. I begin my fast sunday night around 10PM. I don't eat again till Tuesday morning around 10AM, so 36 hrs. I will inadvertently fast for 12 hrs at other times, just by getting up late and not eating till 10AM. And I walk for 1 1/2 hours or ride my bike for an hour daily.
Interesting video on fasting :http://goo.gl/AXpC7

I live on intermittent fasting meaning I stop eating by 7pm and dint day again until around 11:30am the next day. I definitely think it keeps my weight down. I also feel better. I have been doing this for years. Heard it from Dr.Merciless s website.

Good for you, Noah! You should be proud of yourself for lasting 50 hours especially since all he physical exercise probably had an affect on you. I've read you should not exercise beyond light yoga/walking if you are strictly fasting. Fasting is as much of a mental game as a physical one. You definitely have to psych yourself up for it. I just did a fast as well and plan on doing them once a month(48 hr) or possibly once a week(24hr). Haven't decided.

I did a 28 day juice fast(all freshly juiced) once and was going for 30 days. Mentally I felt amazing and even physically I did. It's amazing what your body can do. However, on day 28 my mouth started to get all torn up...soo...I quit. No shame in that.

Quitting for common sense and honorable reasons is not "quitting". It just means that sometimes what you thought you wanted may not be in your best interest after all and sometimes a little "nudge" from the Universe drives home that point. 🙂

At 50 hours you had already learned what you set out to learn, right? No need to go 60.

I was looking for random support in beginning a 36-hour fast. Never done this before and I am already well-aware that it will not only be a great struggle, but also ultimately self-building. I obviously also in my searching was randomly led to this site. Looking through the comments at other people's experiences to prepare myself, I found a lot of good insight, but I was instantly stopped by your comment Erin. My only reason, as it hit me tremendously like a glass wall, (ouch): your face is beautiful. Your smile is perfectly genuine and your eyes look simply and completely...satisfied with life. I have never been halted so suddenly by a human face/smile than how I was today by yours Erin. Obviously, this has a touch, (maybe more than a touch) of creepiness, so I'll leave it at that, but...just so you know, your face is so pretty and lovely I had to say something.

I fast for like 12 hours a day. The fact that most of that is while I'm asleep shouldn't be held against me.

This part is totally off-topic. I'm a complete geek, and so I naturally looked the source code of your page to see what theme this is. Saw you have a javascript named "cat" which just added several points to your awesomeness score.